Feb 3, 2009 — McGraw-Hill Construction has presented its “Best of the Best” Health Care Project Award for 2008 to the Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine/Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

The competition recognizes construction and design excellence of the past year from across the U.S., choosing from the regional winners of McGraw-Hill Construction’s network of 11 regional publications’ Best of 2008 Awards. An independent 13-member jury of construction professionals reviewed 225 regional winners, whittling them down to 70 national finalists before selecting 23 winners in categories ranging from best green building to best transportation project. Each project was judged on a variety of criteria including innovation, contribution to the community, aesthetic quality, and craftsmanship.

The top honor in the health care category was given to the five-story, 223,000-square-foot Price Center/Block Research Pavilion, Einstein’s home for genetic and translational research. The new facility includes more than 40 fully-equipped laboratories, a biosafety level 3 laboratory, common spaces to facilitate collaboration and a 107-seat auditorium.

The Price Center/Block Research Pavilion represents the largest medical research facility to be constructed in the Bronx since the College of Medicine opened in 1955. Designed by Payette Associates of Boston and built by Tishman Construction of New York, the facility was dedicated in June 2008.

Research in the Price Center/Block Research Pavilion is at the frontier of biomedical science and has the potential to impact every area of medicine, from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes to genetic disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers housed at the Price Center/Block Research Pavilion focus on genetic medicine and use their laboratory findings to develop medical advances that will benefit residents of the Bronx, New York City and, ultimately, the world.

The Price Center/Block Research Pavilion is named in honor of Michael F. Price and Muriel Block and her late husband, Harold, who have made two of the largest gifts in the 53-year history of the medical school.

Price, a pioneer in the mutual fund industry, made a donation of $25 million toward the creation of the Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine at Einstein. The Price Center is housed in the new Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion. Block’s gift, valued at $22 million, is the second largest donation ever received by the medical school.

All of the winners will be profiled in each of the April 2009 issues for all 11 regional publications, and in the March 9 issue of “Engineering News-Record.”

For more information on the Price Center/Block Research Pavilion at Einstein, click here.